003 | Text

[firewalled]

Name: Rich Goranski
Date: 11/3
Format: Text, though he might swap formats if someone pressures him enough

hey so i have a kinda weird problem?

or well
i dont
its a friend, actually
two of my friends who came from the same place i guess?

anyways basically what happened is this friend
call him jacob idk
he was really close with this other guy from their world
and apparently he asked him out to prom and everything
uh i dont know if u all know what prom is but its basically this dance slash popularity contest at most high schools
super overrated but i mean i get how he feels
he just wanted a chance to make this guy feel really special even if its kind of overpriced and stupid
i mean they could make it special together

but right anyways
so jacob ended up here before they could go out to prom and his friend ended up here too
but his friend doesnt remember that?
like he remembers them being friends and all that but asking him out never happened.

and this friend heard there was a masquerade being planned here
and he really wants to ask this guy out again
but he doesn't know if he'll say yes or no
he doesnt know if its too soon
like jacob remembers all the build up and the way they bonded and really really likes him
but hes worried the friend didnt have that so he might not feel comfortable yet?

and jacob is like bonded with someone already so i think that might make it awkward too
lmao it probably sounds like a soap opera when i tell it

anyways what do you think i should do?

like what should i do to help my friend?

p.s. dont fucking try to figure out who this is about im not posting this to call someone out okay
this isnt a gossip rag just kind of a similar scenario
its not even the whole story so you cant figure it out anyways

[Basically: it's totally not about him guys, shut your traps.]

Comments

text un: enkidu

[enkidoh]

[This is really a long, long, long text. Allow them to read it three times before they understand the gist of it.

Ah, it seems bonding is truly troublesome and it does damage friendships.]

i think this is a very long story.

[Somewhat later.]

if this older bond matters to said friend it would rule out the bond that is made here. after all the bonds here are merely temporarily. they pale in comparison to the bond true friends share.

text

[firewalled]

[Rich can be. Pretty long winded when he wants to. Someone needs to tell him how to actually tell a story succinctly.]

yeah it kind of is huh
sorry about that

anyways its complicated
i think he has a crush on both his bond and the other person
and i dont think he wants to hurt either of them anyways

text

[enkidoh]

apologies are not necessary. it is not an enjoyable story but i do understand why you want to tell it.

then what is it what you truly want? you do not want to hurt any of them, yet you have to replace one of them.

[Nah, Enkidu is never going to bond. This proves enough.]

it seems that hurting cannot be avoided.

text

[firewalled]

hey hey i said this was about my friend!
its about what jacob wants!
im not involved in this

[Though as much as he tries to deny it, his heart still snaps at the idea of Michael or Justine being 'replaced.']

besides isnt there some way to make it work?
like isn't polyamory a thing
like you can have relationships with more than one person as long as theres good commumication and no one feels alone right

text;

[wiggleon]

Dear Rich.

[Look, he's texting. That's how much he's doing his best not to embarrass Rich. It will probably not last long, expect a call soon Rich, but still... he's trying here.]

Your [Uh.] friend is in quite the difficult situation, I'll say. But if Jacob really wants to ask his friend out again he definitely should. If the situation is complicated, then a conversation about it needs to be had between all of your friends. Waiting for it to be any less complicated won't help matters.

Respectfully yours, Aziraphale.

text;

[firewalled]

[Shit shit shit shit SHIT he forgot Aziraphale would totally know about this! He should have locked down the whole post!

WAIT he should have locked it from Michael and Jeremy and Justine too! Shit! There is no way he's making it out of this with his dignity intact, but he may as well attempt it...]

right i think thats what my friend wants to do
the only problem is like
having a conversation would require him confessing to both of them and then trying to sort all those feelings out without hurting anyone
i dont think he wants to hurt anyone
its just confusing

text;

[wiggleon]

[Even Aziraphale doesn't try to force the conversations to go the way of written mail after the first texts he sends, as tempting as it may be.]

I wholeheartedly believe he doesn't want to hurt anyone, he doesn't seem like the type. Particularly if he's friends with someone like you, who would make this kind of post to find help.

But don't you think keeping these feelings bottled up for long will make things worse?

text

[hippocarnival]

i thought bonds didnt have to be romantic

or is someone else getting those feelings whats awkward?

text

[firewalled]

they dont have to be at all but i think my friend might still have feelings for his bonded

text

[hippocarnival]

oh

but theyre not dating?

cant their bonded feel that [AWKWARD.]

text;

[sylphid]

jacob needs to deal with his issues himself instead of having his friend air his dirty laundry.

text;

[firewalled]

i changed the names for a reason, you know

i mean youre right he should deal with it
but whats wrong with friends offering advice?

text;

[sylphid]

friends are one thing. an entire group of people from different worlds is another. besides if he cares so much he could ask people himself.

text;

[selfishwish]

It sounds like your friend should probably ask him on a first date before the Masquerade! U(｡•ω•｡)U

That way it's more casual than right before the big dance!

text;

[firewalled]

thats actually not a bad idea!
what kind of things would u suggest for a first date here?
i mean u cant exactly go hang in a movie theatre

Re: text;

[selfishwish]

I dunno! I guess you'd have to figure out how big of a date it was? Some of the cafes here are really neat, and I bet you could do dinner and find a street-performance or something!

And the docks at sunset are super pretty, but then after there are usually sailors there being sick, sooo... U(゜-゜)U

private text;

[twoplayergay]

Hey bro.

We should talk about this. In person may be better but if you feel safer over text that's cool too.

So that I'm not just leaving you with that "we should talk" dangling bullshit I'll just go first with the awkward honesty I guess.

I had kind of a feeling maybe something was different between us by senior year, since you're ahead of me. You seemed like you were holding something back, but I was working really hard to ignore it. I'm kind of a baller at pretending I don't notice awkwardness, or at masking any gay feelings I got because you know. Only queer at school.

Except I'm not the only queer at school anymore am I? That's pretty great.

private text;

[firewalled]

[The moment Rich sees that he has a response from Michael, his heart flies into his throat. He had already known he had made the mistake of leaving this open, had made the mistake of not thinking through what he was posting and to who, and he shouldn't be surprised that mistake led to consequences now.

He can only imagine what it says. It would almost be easier to imagine what it said, instead of looking at it and confirming whether or not Michael was completely repulsed by him. The text is there, in there with all the information Michael would need to discover his reformed high school bully is crushing on him, but he wouldn't know whether or not Michael had caught on or whether or not he hated him until he opened it.

It was Schroedinger's text message. He had always thought that experiment was bullshit, but now? He definitely gets the point of it.

Still, he can't exactly just leave this alone, because Michael isn't trapped inside a box, he's pretty much just down the hallway. He has to face it eventually, so after a few more moments of panicked swearing and verbal flagellation towards himself, he reads it.

He reads it again.

His heart isn't settled, but it maybe isn't threatening to pop out of his mouth any time soon. It's not a friendship break up. Not yet. Michael could be saving it until they talk in person, and that's terrifying, but it's just as terrifying to think about reading it in text, so Rich isn't going to be that asshole and turn him down.

After several minutes of re-reading and slow typing, Rich responds.]

I guess there's no point in trying to say you should just talk to "jacob", huh
I'm sorry I made things awkward and I'm really sorry you could tell I was holding things back

We probably can talk in person.
I'm just in my room so

[twoplayergay]

don't be sorry dude, you were doing your best. trying to not make it weird probably, right? i know that feeling.
seriously, you don't have to apologize.

i'm coming down the hall, okay?

[And then hes dragging himself off his bed and shuffling down the hallway toward Rich and Justine's room.

And he knocks.]

text; username: aragaki

[hoboagogo]

[....Wow the defensiveness at the end really takes this to the next level. It like it transcends 'cringing' into 'actual discomfort.' Rich.... what even is this. this sort oif thing is why shinjiro thinks relationships are A Mistake.]

its not like you can only have one bond

[OR.... DATE.... HE GUESSES.... if they're all cool with it???]

i dunno just do whatever you want. maybe do it less embarrassingly though.

text;

[firewalled]

[This is exactly the kind of thing an embarrassing teen would do, which is exactly what Rich still is. The problem with him deciding that he's going to be unapologetically himself and not feel bad about who he is... means he's lacking a bit of awareness on what's genuinely embarrassing.]

i am doing whatever i want
i mean im just asking advice for my friend its not that embarrassing


[hoboagogo]

[poor rich, the normal teen, faced with shinjiro, the cynical old man trapped in a teen's body.]

don't act like either of us are stupid
thats the part that makes it embarrassing, not whatever you're asking.

from what i'm getting reading this, you got a bond with one person who you like here, but now you got someone from back home. Back home, you guys are together or something, but he don't remember that. sound about right?

so what do you wanna do about it

[lightblooming]

[ ... He's very likely talking about himself. ]

I've heard that in situations like this, you should listen to what your heart is telling you.

[firewalled]

i mean i guess i should
but its also nerve wracking
and dont emotions like that also come from the heart or something

[lightblooming]

Well... yes.

But, every big choice comes with its own obstacles. Sometimes, your feelings can be part of that.